The Mets seem to be headed in the right direction. A lot of home grown talent on the field this year.

Are we prepared to let Alderson and Collins build this franchise back up? Or are we so anti- Wilpon/ Yankee envy that we are resigned to give up?

This is as excited as I have been in years for a Mets team. No egos, no character issues, lots of guys I have followed up through the minors. We have the right manager, the right GM, the right philosophy. We will hit. The bullpen is built nicely. If we can get good starting pitching all year, we will be in the mix.

If by we you mean the fans, we obviously don't have the power. If you mean the organization, the history of this ownership says no. We can only hope for sustained change and professional behavior. It doesn't hurt to dream. As for play on the field, I take one game at a time until patterns develop.

If by we you mean the fans, we obviously don't have the power. If you mean the organization, the history of this ownership says no. We can only hope for sustained change and professional behavior. It doesn't hurt to dream. As for play on the field, I take one game at a time until patterns develop.

In my opinion three weeks makes a pattern. Let's believe and enjoy. Team starts with a blank slate and play one game at a time.

i don't know what alderson has done besides bringing in some mediocre relievers...other than that it looks to me like the same team as last year, minus reyes, beltran, and k-rod.

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'-|-'- "Mr. Jeff Wilpon has decided that he’s going to learn how to run a baseball team and take over at the end of the year… Run for the hills, boys. I think probably all those baseball people will bail… Jeff sits there by himself like he’s King Tut waiting for his camel.” - Nelson Doubleday- "In today's regulatory environment, it's virtually impossible to violate rules." - Bernard Madoff, 10/20/07The Washington Post decided not to cover Ralph Nader's presidential campaign because he had no chance of winning. Nader's response: "Then why are you covering the Nationals?"- Asked by the Post about the younger Wilpon's job performance, Fred Wilpon said: "Excellent. Everybody knows ...that."- "The word 'autonomy' is sometimes misused." - Jeff Wilpon- "Let’s give Jeff Wilpon the benefit of the doubt here for a moment. Let’s say he is not short-tempered. Tone deaf. A credit seeker. An accountability deflector. A micro-manager. A second-guesser. A less-than-deep thinker. And bad at self-awareness. Fine, he’s none of these things. But here is the problem: This is his perception in the industry." - Joel Sherman- “Jeff is the problem with the organization, and he is never going to realize that. He cannot help himself. He has to be involved. He will never hire anyone who will not let him have major input. He will not hire anyone who does not run every personnel decision through him.” - Anonymous NL Executive- "The only person with a worse reputation than Jeff Wilpon in the game is David Samson." - Anonymous AL executive- "[Mets GM Omar Minaya] isn’t the General Manager. Jeff Wilpon is. Omar’s the one out there to take the heat.” - Peter Gammons- [Jeff Wilpon's] role in management, according to one official who worked for him, "is to act as president and CEO of second-guessing."- "I always want Mets fans on my juries," said one noted defense attorney friend, a rabid Yankees fan. "They love losers, even three-time losers like some of my clients. And if Mets fans believe anything the Mets front office says, I can convince them to acquit anybody." - Denis Hamill- I got a call the other day. They noted I had been a long term season ticket holder and asked if I was interested. I immediately exclaimed "I'm so sorry for the Wilpon Family". He asked what I meant. I told the guy if he looked in my file, he'd see a note to call me after both Fred and Jeff dropped dead, and not a day before. - Meanballer

what does alderson have to do with that? those guys were all here before him. and i'd say hes as much to blame as anyone for the complete mistreatment of davis last year.

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'-|-'- "Mr. Jeff Wilpon has decided that he’s going to learn how to run a baseball team and take over at the end of the year… Run for the hills, boys. I think probably all those baseball people will bail… Jeff sits there by himself like he’s King Tut waiting for his camel.” - Nelson Doubleday- "In today's regulatory environment, it's virtually impossible to violate rules." - Bernard Madoff, 10/20/07The Washington Post decided not to cover Ralph Nader's presidential campaign because he had no chance of winning. Nader's response: "Then why are you covering the Nationals?"- Asked by the Post about the younger Wilpon's job performance, Fred Wilpon said: "Excellent. Everybody knows ...that."- "The word 'autonomy' is sometimes misused." - Jeff Wilpon- "Let’s give Jeff Wilpon the benefit of the doubt here for a moment. Let’s say he is not short-tempered. Tone deaf. A credit seeker. An accountability deflector. A micro-manager. A second-guesser. A less-than-deep thinker. And bad at self-awareness. Fine, he’s none of these things. But here is the problem: This is his perception in the industry." - Joel Sherman- “Jeff is the problem with the organization, and he is never going to realize that. He cannot help himself. He has to be involved. He will never hire anyone who will not let him have major input. He will not hire anyone who does not run every personnel decision through him.” - Anonymous NL Executive- "The only person with a worse reputation than Jeff Wilpon in the game is David Samson." - Anonymous AL executive- "[Mets GM Omar Minaya] isn’t the General Manager. Jeff Wilpon is. Omar’s the one out there to take the heat.” - Peter Gammons- [Jeff Wilpon's] role in management, according to one official who worked for him, "is to act as president and CEO of second-guessing."- "I always want Mets fans on my juries," said one noted defense attorney friend, a rabid Yankees fan. "They love losers, even three-time losers like some of my clients. And if Mets fans believe anything the Mets front office says, I can convince them to acquit anybody." - Denis Hamill- I got a call the other day. They noted I had been a long term season ticket holder and asked if I was interested. I immediately exclaimed "I'm so sorry for the Wilpon Family". He asked what I meant. I told the guy if he looked in my file, he'd see a note to call me after both Fred and Jeff dropped dead, and not a day before. - Meanballer

'-|-'- "Mr. Jeff Wilpon has decided that he’s going to learn how to run a baseball team and take over at the end of the year… Run for the hills, boys. I think probably all those baseball people will bail… Jeff sits there by himself like he’s King Tut waiting for his camel.” - Nelson Doubleday- "In today's regulatory environment, it's virtually impossible to violate rules." - Bernard Madoff, 10/20/07The Washington Post decided not to cover Ralph Nader's presidential campaign because he had no chance of winning. Nader's response: "Then why are you covering the Nationals?"- Asked by the Post about the younger Wilpon's job performance, Fred Wilpon said: "Excellent. Everybody knows ...that."- "The word 'autonomy' is sometimes misused." - Jeff Wilpon- "Let’s give Jeff Wilpon the benefit of the doubt here for a moment. Let’s say he is not short-tempered. Tone deaf. A credit seeker. An accountability deflector. A micro-manager. A second-guesser. A less-than-deep thinker. And bad at self-awareness. Fine, he’s none of these things. But here is the problem: This is his perception in the industry." - Joel Sherman- “Jeff is the problem with the organization, and he is never going to realize that. He cannot help himself. He has to be involved. He will never hire anyone who will not let him have major input. He will not hire anyone who does not run every personnel decision through him.” - Anonymous NL Executive- "The only person with a worse reputation than Jeff Wilpon in the game is David Samson." - Anonymous AL executive- "[Mets GM Omar Minaya] isn’t the General Manager. Jeff Wilpon is. Omar’s the one out there to take the heat.” - Peter Gammons- [Jeff Wilpon's] role in management, according to one official who worked for him, "is to act as president and CEO of second-guessing."- "I always want Mets fans on my juries," said one noted defense attorney friend, a rabid Yankees fan. "They love losers, even three-time losers like some of my clients. And if Mets fans believe anything the Mets front office says, I can convince them to acquit anybody." - Denis Hamill- I got a call the other day. They noted I had been a long term season ticket holder and asked if I was interested. I immediately exclaimed "I'm so sorry for the Wilpon Family". He asked what I meant. I told the guy if he looked in my file, he'd see a note to call me after both Fred and Jeff dropped dead, and not a day before. - Meanballer

It's work in progress. U have to be patient and eventually u will see the bigger picture.

Let's all agree that only by waiting patiently for a larger sampling can the bigger picture start to appear. At this time, the only data based on large sampling does not suggest that this team is better. You are absolutely free to suggest that if all the kids play to higher levels than scouting reports project, all of the key players stay healthy, and all the new additions play better than last year, that this team will be better than last year's. There are only 2 starting position players on this team who were with the team all year, without injuries or minor league play - Bay and Thole. It's a lot to project what impact 6 other guys will do over a full year, particularly when Wright is the only other player among them who has ever played a full major league season. To imply that Francisco and Rauch will suddenly be better than they have been the last few years based on 3 games is a stretch after one weekend. Patience before definitive statements of success is definitely the right approach. Baseball is not football. It's a long season and is the main reason why most players do NOT sustain success over 6 months. It's not easy to do. One game at a time....

Let's all agree that only by waiting patiently for a larger sampling can the bigger picture start to appear. At this time, the only data based on large sampling does not suggest that this team is better. You are absolutely free to suggest that if all the kids play to higher levels than scouting reports project, all of the key players stay healthy, and all the new additions play better than last year, that this team will be better than last year's. There are only 2 starting position players on this team who were with the team all year, without injuries or minor league play - Bay and Thole. It's a lot to project what impact 6 other guys will do over a full year, particularly when Wright is the only other player among them who has ever played a full major league season. To imply that Francisco and Rauch will suddenly be better than they have been the last few years based on 3 games is a stretch after one weekend. Patience before definitive statements of success is definitely the right approach. Baseball is not football. It's a long season and is the main reason why most players do sustain success over 6 months. It's not easy to do. One game at a time....

Clearly stated and with 5 star accuracy. We all are hoping but facts are facts. As mature adults and with much past experience, we are strong enough to withstand dissapointment while still remaining loyal fans.

Clearly stated and with 5 star accuracy. We all are hoping but facts are facts. As mature adults and with much past experience, we are strong enough to withstand dissapointment while still remaining loyal fans.

like overpaying for those three guys- getting rid of malcontents, however talented, can change the clubhouse

so you're giving credit to alderson for not having money to spend?

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'-|-'- "Mr. Jeff Wilpon has decided that he’s going to learn how to run a baseball team and take over at the end of the year… Run for the hills, boys. I think probably all those baseball people will bail… Jeff sits there by himself like he’s King Tut waiting for his camel.” - Nelson Doubleday- "In today's regulatory environment, it's virtually impossible to violate rules." - Bernard Madoff, 10/20/07The Washington Post decided not to cover Ralph Nader's presidential campaign because he had no chance of winning. Nader's response: "Then why are you covering the Nationals?"- Asked by the Post about the younger Wilpon's job performance, Fred Wilpon said: "Excellent. Everybody knows ...that."- "The word 'autonomy' is sometimes misused." - Jeff Wilpon- "Let’s give Jeff Wilpon the benefit of the doubt here for a moment. Let’s say he is not short-tempered. Tone deaf. A credit seeker. An accountability deflector. A micro-manager. A second-guesser. A less-than-deep thinker. And bad at self-awareness. Fine, he’s none of these things. But here is the problem: This is his perception in the industry." - Joel Sherman- “Jeff is the problem with the organization, and he is never going to realize that. He cannot help himself. He has to be involved. He will never hire anyone who will not let him have major input. He will not hire anyone who does not run every personnel decision through him.” - Anonymous NL Executive- "The only person with a worse reputation than Jeff Wilpon in the game is David Samson." - Anonymous AL executive- "[Mets GM Omar Minaya] isn’t the General Manager. Jeff Wilpon is. Omar’s the one out there to take the heat.” - Peter Gammons- [Jeff Wilpon's] role in management, according to one official who worked for him, "is to act as president and CEO of second-guessing."- "I always want Mets fans on my juries," said one noted defense attorney friend, a rabid Yankees fan. "They love losers, even three-time losers like some of my clients. And if Mets fans believe anything the Mets front office says, I can convince them to acquit anybody." - Denis Hamill- I got a call the other day. They noted I had been a long term season ticket holder and asked if I was interested. I immediately exclaimed "I'm so sorry for the Wilpon Family". He asked what I meant. I told the guy if he looked in my file, he'd see a note to call me after both Fred and Jeff dropped dead, and not a day before. - Meanballer

At some point, one hopes there's a better response than simply implying that anyone who's critical is happy when the Mets are losing. I have NEVER been happy when the Mets are losing. I am friggin' pissed off! I have been for too many years. That does not mean that I feel the need to read everything in a positive light. I don't need to. It doesn't improve my long-term outlook which is all I care about.

E.g. It doesn't make me feel better to decide that Murphy will be fine at 2B because last night he made a great play in the field. I still see him as a potential hole. Am I happy he made the play? Yes, but that doesn't change my evaluation of his defensive quality. It will take a lot more than that to do so. If you feel better seeing that as the predictor of his long-term quality at 2B, go ahead and do so but do not take the easy way out and see doubt and criticism of his 2B play as wanting him to fail. You think I really want Rauch and Francisco to fail? No, but because they have never been extremely successful in their career, I am not going to go around giving kudos to Alderson after 4 games of solid pitching.

Trust me. I long for the 80's when you knew that you would be a contender every year, that management, agree with them or not, would seek to build a contender every year (not cross their fingers and hope for one). It has been 10 years of this ownership and I have never seen a commitment to a long-term plan to be a contender for the title, not simply for meaningful games in September. I would not be happy believing for the sake of believing. I root for one game at a time. When you do that, you analyze each game for its long-term value. So every positive I can find a negative, as much as for every negative I can find a positive. In each case, there are all speculative as part from Wright, Santana and Bay ( two of them coming off injuries) nobody on this team has any real pedigree and only Niese (though also coming off an injury), among the youngsters, has played a full season. The Mets have been here before, though when it was a prelude to a better future the prospects had better projections than the current ones do.

the thing about murphy making that play that a lot of people won't realize was that he had to be out of position to make it.

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'-|-'- "Mr. Jeff Wilpon has decided that he’s going to learn how to run a baseball team and take over at the end of the year… Run for the hills, boys. I think probably all those baseball people will bail… Jeff sits there by himself like he’s King Tut waiting for his camel.” - Nelson Doubleday- "In today's regulatory environment, it's virtually impossible to violate rules." - Bernard Madoff, 10/20/07The Washington Post decided not to cover Ralph Nader's presidential campaign because he had no chance of winning. Nader's response: "Then why are you covering the Nationals?"- Asked by the Post about the younger Wilpon's job performance, Fred Wilpon said: "Excellent. Everybody knows ...that."- "The word 'autonomy' is sometimes misused." - Jeff Wilpon- "Let’s give Jeff Wilpon the benefit of the doubt here for a moment. Let’s say he is not short-tempered. Tone deaf. A credit seeker. An accountability deflector. A micro-manager. A second-guesser. A less-than-deep thinker. And bad at self-awareness. Fine, he’s none of these things. But here is the problem: This is his perception in the industry." - Joel Sherman- “Jeff is the problem with the organization, and he is never going to realize that. He cannot help himself. He has to be involved. He will never hire anyone who will not let him have major input. He will not hire anyone who does not run every personnel decision through him.” - Anonymous NL Executive- "The only person with a worse reputation than Jeff Wilpon in the game is David Samson." - Anonymous AL executive- "[Mets GM Omar Minaya] isn’t the General Manager. Jeff Wilpon is. Omar’s the one out there to take the heat.” - Peter Gammons- [Jeff Wilpon's] role in management, according to one official who worked for him, "is to act as president and CEO of second-guessing."- "I always want Mets fans on my juries," said one noted defense attorney friend, a rabid Yankees fan. "They love losers, even three-time losers like some of my clients. And if Mets fans believe anything the Mets front office says, I can convince them to acquit anybody." - Denis Hamill- I got a call the other day. They noted I had been a long term season ticket holder and asked if I was interested. I immediately exclaimed "I'm so sorry for the Wilpon Family". He asked what I meant. I told the guy if he looked in my file, he'd see a note to call me after both Fred and Jeff dropped dead, and not a day before. - Meanballer

At some point, one hopes there's a better response than simply implying that anyone who's critical is happy when the Mets are losing. I have NEVER been happy when the Mets are losing. I am friggin' pissed off! I have been for too many years. That does not mean that I feel the need to read everything in a positive light. I don't need to. It doesn't improve my long-term outlook which is all I care about.

E.g. It doesn't make me feel better to decide that Murphy will be fine at 2B because last night he made a great play in the field. I still see him as a potential hole. Am I happy he made the play? Yes, but that doesn't change my evaluation of his defensive quality. It will take a lot more than that to do so. If you feel better seeing that as the predictor of his long-term quality at 2B, go ahead and do so but do not take the easy way out and see doubt and criticism of his 2B play as wanting him to fail. You think I really want Rauch and Francisco to fail? No, but because they have never been extremely successful in their career, I am not going to go around giving kudos to Alderson after 4 games of solid pitching.

Trust me. I long for the 80's when you knew that you would be a contender every year, that management, agree with them or not, would seek to build a contender every year (not cross their fingers and hope for one). It has been 10 years of this ownership and I have never seen a commitment to a long-term plan to be a contender for the title, not simply for meaningful games in September. I would not be happy believing for the sake of believing. I root for one game at a time. When you do that, you analyze each game for its long-term value. So every positive I can find a negative, as much as for every negative I can find a positive. In each case, there are all speculative as part from Wright, Santana and Bay ( two of them coming off injuries) nobody on this team has any real pedigree and only Niese (though also coming off an injury), among the youngsters, has played a full season. The Mets have been here before, though when it was a prelude to a better future the prospects had better projections than the current ones do.

you are entitled to be any kind of fan you want. but you have to admit (or maybe you don't) that Mets fans wear their team's ineptitude like a badge of honor.

you are entitled to be any kind of fan you want. but you have to admit (or maybe you don't) that Mets fans wear their team's ineptitude like a badge of honor.

I think it's a relic of the fact that so many Mets fans can trace their roots to the Dodgers. "Wait until next year" was the team's slogan. And when the Mets were formed, they had to be bad because there was a lousy expansion draft model, no farm system and no free agency.

That followed by a quarter century of Marv Throneberry quality ownership and direction will leave a fanbase that remains as bedraggled by definition.

for working within the parameters he has been given and putting a good roster on the field

there is not one starting pitcher or starting position player on the current 25 man roster that wasn't in the organization when he showed up.

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'-|-'- "Mr. Jeff Wilpon has decided that he’s going to learn how to run a baseball team and take over at the end of the year… Run for the hills, boys. I think probably all those baseball people will bail… Jeff sits there by himself like he’s King Tut waiting for his camel.” - Nelson Doubleday- "In today's regulatory environment, it's virtually impossible to violate rules." - Bernard Madoff, 10/20/07The Washington Post decided not to cover Ralph Nader's presidential campaign because he had no chance of winning. Nader's response: "Then why are you covering the Nationals?"- Asked by the Post about the younger Wilpon's job performance, Fred Wilpon said: "Excellent. Everybody knows ...that."- "The word 'autonomy' is sometimes misused." - Jeff Wilpon- "Let’s give Jeff Wilpon the benefit of the doubt here for a moment. Let’s say he is not short-tempered. Tone deaf. A credit seeker. An accountability deflector. A micro-manager. A second-guesser. A less-than-deep thinker. And bad at self-awareness. Fine, he’s none of these things. But here is the problem: This is his perception in the industry." - Joel Sherman- “Jeff is the problem with the organization, and he is never going to realize that. He cannot help himself. He has to be involved. He will never hire anyone who will not let him have major input. He will not hire anyone who does not run every personnel decision through him.” - Anonymous NL Executive- "The only person with a worse reputation than Jeff Wilpon in the game is David Samson." - Anonymous AL executive- "[Mets GM Omar Minaya] isn’t the General Manager. Jeff Wilpon is. Omar’s the one out there to take the heat.” - Peter Gammons- [Jeff Wilpon's] role in management, according to one official who worked for him, "is to act as president and CEO of second-guessing."- "I always want Mets fans on my juries," said one noted defense attorney friend, a rabid Yankees fan. "They love losers, even three-time losers like some of my clients. And if Mets fans believe anything the Mets front office says, I can convince them to acquit anybody." - Denis Hamill- I got a call the other day. They noted I had been a long term season ticket holder and asked if I was interested. I immediately exclaimed "I'm so sorry for the Wilpon Family". He asked what I meant. I told the guy if he looked in my file, he'd see a note to call me after both Fred and Jeff dropped dead, and not a day before. - Meanballer